an ode to 2009

times to remember:
I. Himalayan Trek
I was at office one day and i get a call from him saying that there is an advertisement in the newspaper calling women to join a Himalayan trek.

A month later i was there, at saurkundi pass 12000ft above sea level in the lower himalayan range with people i did not know, most of whom were much younger to me. the trip was for 20 days without mobile covering
1. agra- my first encounter with the lady in white 'the taj mahal'
2. amritsar- the golden temple is breath taking at night and the kulcha's and lassi's at amritsar are worth being on everyone s bucket list
3. wagha border- i wonder why the act they put up at the border is like something out of a bad hindi movie
4. delhi- finally got some south indian food to eat,
5. manali- its no surprise that i was vomiting all the way up to the hill station, my first sight of the snow peaks
6. hadimba temple- the hungry dog there, the mountain rabbits, the first yak i saw
7. babeli the base camp- living in tents, using sleeping bags, short trek up a hill in the rain, the river Beas gushing just outside the camp
8. trek to saurkundi- climbing up to 12000 ft in 4 days time, stopping every evening at a new camp, living without lights for next 7 days, maggie on the way, poori for lunch, my first taste of 'tasty' omelet, searching for big rocks to cover our peeing and shitting in the wilderness which seemed far better than the so called bathrooms in these camps,slipping and sliding between the trees when searching for a peeing spot (by the way it was a very scary experience as if i had not caught on to a tree that came in my way i would have rolled down a few thousand kilometers in the forest like the bottle of water i was carrying did), sighting my first snow, experiencing the first snowfall, watching the light reflected off the snow all through the night, experienced sliding in the snow (the fall was to be stopped by the guides but they just couldnt stop me and i went all the way to the bottom of the hill and hit a rock, but well am still alive), experiencing a snow storm for 5 mins as soon as we reached our summit, looking down at manali spread out like the map of india (i am serious, manali has its boundaries like india has-same shape), experiencing the difficulty of climbing down, meeting some amazing people who i dont seem to keep in touch with,
9. base camp- reaching base camp and acting as if we were seasoned climbers, taking a bath after 10 whole days (and it feels like heaven i tell you, even though it was taking bath in freezing cold water), calling loved ones and feeling a relief wash over me talking to them after a long time
10. Delhi- shopping at sarojini street
11. Back to banglore and home sweet home- tanned and tired

II. First ponnu pathufication:
yes, i was trying to have an 'arranged marriage'. It was such a different experience. this 'alliance' apparently came through my aunts friend. I spoke to the guy twice or thrice and his parents wanted to meet me. sitting there, feeling weird, wishing the man i love would decide to marry me, smiling at the appropriate junctures, accepting all the attention i was getting and not knowing how to react. Later convincing the boy and my parents that 'he was not my type and i do not want to spend my life with him'.

III. The proposal i have been waiting for:
"ok, lets get married", he told that simply without even a change in his tone. i didnt know if it was for real. i was afraid he was just telling it for the sake of it. But no, he had decided.

IV. Taking to my parents:
"amma, this is such a tiresome process, why dont i just marry Bala". Amma was cooking. she stopped for a fraction of a second. no one would have noticed it except me, she then resumed her work. "are you listening?" i asked. "dont talk nonsense Deepa, this is not funny" she said still not looking at me. My dad said "oh good. i am ok" and i wondered if it could have been more exciting.
to make a 2 week long story short, they finally agreed and we are getting married.

V. The engagement:
25th Oct'09, dressing up, being nervous as hell, not believing that 'I' am actually getting engaged, sitting there, smiling at appropriate junctures and the whole thing ended in a matter of minutes.

I have had one of the best new years this time and i remember only the good memories. the not so good ones? well there are always times when i am depressed to wallow in all those depressing moments of 2009 which i do not seem to remember much about.

2010 is here bringing with it a little more hope, a little more fun, a little more sanity, a little more empathy, a little more understanding, a little more learning, a little more professionalism, a little more joy, a little more age, a little more of everything.